ACCORDING to the IG police, terror attacks have spiked up in recent years. While the figure is worrying we would have liked to know what is being done to thwart the attacks. One of the reasons for the rise in incidents of terror violence, apart from a lack of a coherent counter-extremism strategy, is the trial of, and follow-up operation against, the extremists.

Why is it that only one verdict has been passed and charge-sheets in five other cases only have been filed on some 37 attacks on secular bloggers, writers and others since 2013? The attacks have been carried out mostly by home-grown terror outfits which are spearheading extremist operations in Bangladesh. They are a clear danger to the secular outlook that defines the country and a threat to free thinking in general. The response from the police that they are taking action and that is the reason more attacks are not happening is just one side of the story.

We are failing to take note of the fact that there have been 9 attacks in the first 4 months of 2016 compared tc a total of 3 in the whole of 2015. It is a clear indication that extremists are more emboldened than before. Our failure to fast-track cases against terrorist attacks is perhaps one of the reasons why such attacks are increasing at an exponential rate. It is time to take cognizance of the fact that we have a credible threat to the country in the form of extremists. And one of the ways to frustrate their efforts would be to speed up the trial process of those apprehended by law enforcing agencies.